Sencha is not used to brew matcha. There are powdered senchas which are similar to matcha, but they are inevitably made from sencha. Matcha should be made from tencha. Tencha is not normally sold by itself, but Harney and Sons does sell it, although it is quite pricey. I have been tempted to try it myself, but can't bring myself to buy the large quantity of it and take the dive. And sadly they don't have samples.

Pentox wrote:Sencha is not used to brew matcha. There are powdered senchas which are similar to matcha, but they are inevitably made from sencha. Matcha should be made from tencha. Tencha is not normally sold by itself, but Harney and Sons does sell it, although it is quite pricey. I have been tempted to try it myself, but can't bring myself to buy the large quantity of it and take the dive. And sadly they don't have samples.

trent wrote:Just a random thought:Has anyone ever tried brewing sencha and using that sencha to make matcha with?

Whatever that would be, it wouldn't be "Matcha." Matcha is made from a particular kind of tea leaf, "Tencha," which is shade-grown tea leaves with the stems removed. Please see the following brief definititions from the O-Cha Glossary

Matcha: "Powdered green tea derived from shade grown green tea plants. Not to be confused with powdered sencha, which is less expensive and grown in the sun. This is the tea used for the Japanese tea ceremony."

Tencha: "Green tea grown under the same conditions as gyokuro, that being under 90%+ shade for approx. three weeks before harvest. Unlike gyokuro, tencha is not rolled after steaming but is de-veined for later use as matcha. Represents 1.1% of the green tea produced in Japan."

Sencha: "Japanese green tea that is grown under full sun. 77% of all green tea produced in Japan is classified as sencha in some form."

If you search for Matcha on Youtube, you should be able to find some great video's depicting the entire processing.

Gah! When Pentox and Olivierco do back to back postings, I *still* get confused.

I've never tried Trent's suggestion, but it does sound like something I might do on a whim...then decide to never, ever tell another soul about. Maybe the next time I'm staring at a pot of spent sencha, I'll let my hand drift towards my chasen. And maybe I'll post the results.